Microsoft Corp. today announced the availability of WebMatrix, a free Web development tool designed to help website developers of all skill levels easily create, customize and publish websites to the Internet. Microsoft has also made available a set of video tutorials, how-to tips and other resources for helping new Web developers get started.

“Our Web platform offers a complete ecosystem of products, partners and technologies all aimed at helping developers succeed on the Web,” said S. Somasegar, senior vice president of the Developer Division at Microsoft. “Every day, more people are looking to build, publish and manage a website, and now, with WebMatrix, we provide developers of all skill levels with a sophisticated, yet easy-to-use solution to get their sites online.”

WebMatrix is available today in nine languages and includes a set of tools to create new websites, using code provided through a variety of available templates or using existing free open source Web applications, such as WordPress, Joomla!, DotNetNuke and Umbraco.

Ryan Ozimek, a leader of Joomla!, the widely used content management system, will join Microsoft executives at today’s launch event in Sandusky, Ohio. “WebMatrix puts the power and user-friendliness of Joomla! within arm’s reach of Web developers and designers by providing a set of easily accessible tools,” said Ozimek, president of Open Source Matters, the nonprofit organization that helps manage the Joomla! project.

The ecosystem of nearly 40 open source application partners supporting WebMatrix is essential for development success on the Web. “WebMatrix is one of the best ways to set up and build an Umbraco website,” said Niels Hartvig, founder of Umbraco. “With strong industry partners supporting into WebMatrix, Microsoft’s holistic approach is truly breaking down the entry barrier for Web developers.”

Designed for Ease of Use

Microsoft designed WebMatrix for anyone wanting to create a website. For students and new developers, WebMatrix provides a quick way to learn how to build websites; for Web agencies, it provides an efficient way to build websites using open source applications; and for the professional developer, it’s another option for quick and easy data-driven website development. Professional developers can also contribute to a directory of code published through NuGet, a free open source package management system, so others can benefit from their expertise.

WebMatrix provides the tools needed to run a website, including the Web server, database and Web frameworks. WebMatrix increases development productivity with support for multiple programming syntaxes, such as ASP.NET “Razor” or PHP, and Web helpers, which give a single line-of-code solution for complex coding tasks, such as inserting Twitter feeds or video. It also includes a search engine optimization reporting tool to help build search-friendly websites that are more discoverable to their users.

When a website is ready to be published, Web developers seamlessly publish it to their own hosting provider or one available through WebMatrix. WebMatrix includes a gallery of offerings from hosting providers that range in scalability and price based on users’ needs. An extensive group of more than 30 hosting partners spans18 countries including companies such as STRATO (Germany), DataJapan Corp. (Japan), Applied Innovations Corp. (U.S.), Fasthosts (U.K.), Infobox (Russia), Poundhosts (U.K.), MyHosting.com (Canada), NetMagic Solutions (India), Netissime (France) and Ikoula (France).